Ulajh Shreya Dev Dube

What made you want to pick up the script of Ulajh? This is your first time going from indie, small-budget projects to a big studio film; how did youapproach it? What were the conversations you had with director Sudhanshu Saria about the visual style and treatment of the film?
When I read the script of Ulajh, I got extremely excited. It evolved a little bit in the process because of the locations that we were shooting in. Sudhanshu slightly adapted it depending on the country we landed up making the world of Ulajh in. But the script was really beautiful. It is writ- ten by Parveez Shaikh and the dialogues by Atika Chohan. The script resonated with me as a woman living in a patriarchal society. The woman character in the film comes from an educated family, from a political background but gets into a sticky situation. I really love such characters who are somewhat anti-heros. Characters who have good intentions but who are constantly doing things wrong because of the circumstances. It was beautiful to celebrate a woman like this. Janhvi Kapoor has done a spectacular job as that character. She has created and recreated the characters so beautifully that a lot of women will be able to relate to it. She is strong and powerful in the film and Ulajh is a brave choice.

I love this genre of filmmaking so much since I have grown up watching it. It is a very exciting world for me to create cinematically; to think about the design of it. It was even more exciting when we decided to shoot it in London because I have been living in London on and off for ten years so I knew the city and country really well. It didn’t have a foreign perspective as far as the cinema- tographer is concerned. I already knew what the country’s aesthetics and nuances are like. My ex-partner is English and because of that I was able to have a point of view of someone who lives and belongs there. So the world feels very seamless and I hope I have been able to do that with the film. I hope I have done justice to both countries because we came back to shoot it in India after London.

What did you feed yourself with while working on Ulajh?
It was primarily the script that inspired me and gave me ideas. Once you see the film, you will understand that so many of women have really dealt with issues which the protagonist of Ulajh, Suhana Bhatia, goes through. That is the reason why I didn’t have to look outside the script in my own life to be able to connect or gather inspiration to create this world of Ulajh. Of course, visually there are films that I resonate with like Killing of a Sacred Deer. I really loved the way it was lit and how the characters could move inside the space where they were positioned. But otherwise, it was the script of Ulajh that kept us going and we built on that. Once you see the film you’ll realise that it is enough to be able to stitch something with.

What is it like to be a female cinematographer?
The job is so physically intensive...how do you prep for it? I wouldn’t do anything else just because of my gender. It is a job but of course, it is a physically taxing because you are on your feet 15-16 hours a day. So one does get tired since it is a strenuous job but it is definitely very rewarding. And it is very exciting to be able to create art.